From Black Jack Press comes the third issue of Tall Tales From The Badlands. It’s westerns with a twist as things aren’t always as they seem in this western anthology series. Everything from ghosts to cannibals to zombies make an appearance in the five stories and 50+ pages of this issue.
In the pages of Tall Tales #3 are five separate and distinct stories. First up is The Judgement of the People by Mark Wheaton and Jerry DeCaire about a heartless, corrupt judge that finds the afterlife has a way of righting all wrongs. In Apologies by Sean Fahey and John Fortune a father is willing to end his kids’ suffering any way he can after they’ve been stuck in the wilderness and starving for weeks. In Rustlers, Robert Lapton and Franco Cespedes take a gang of outlaws on a train heist that goes terribly wrong. In Matt Dembicki and Ezequiel Rosingana‘s All Mine more than one man is killed because of a lust for gold. In the final story by Sean Fahey and Ruben Rojas, Where the Heart Is, two settler families find that home is more about a state of mind rather than a physical place. 
Talking about each individual story would take many more words than is usual in a review, but it was interesting to see the western genre with some sci-fi, horror, and supernatural twists. My favorite story of the bunch was Apologies from Fahey and Fortune, which played on the idea of a family stuck in the wilderness with death as their only out, but when their rescue finally comes things only get worse. Fahey’s story had a nice twist at the end, and was a joy to read from start to finish. Fortune’s art is a bit cartoony, seemingly at odds with the serious nature of the story, but that only helps to add to the overall horror of the final story.
Tall Tales from the Badlands is honestly one of the best anthologies I’ve read in a while, western or otherwise. The quality of the art and stories doesn’t slack from story to story. The five stories all have their own distinct voices, while fitting nicely into the “weird west” theme that Tall Tales seems to have. If you’re looking to pick up a copy of Tall Tales #3 or any of the previous issues, they can be found digitally on My Digital Comics, Drive Thru Stuff, and Graphicly or in print on Indy Planet and check out the Black Jack Press Facebook page!
Art: 8/10
Script: 9/10
Parental Concern: Moderate. Death, despair, blood.
